When I received this article, The changing face of Northwest families by April Lacey, I was struck by the title and the message in the article. We have articles about Korean adoption from when I came and it was this oddity then – look at what these strange people are doing. Even when my sister came, the articles were less about family and more about this phenomena called Korean adoption.

The faces of a typical American family have changed.

What people used to consider the norm - a mom, a dad and two or three children with similar features - has become just one option for the makeup of a family.

American families, now more than ever, adopt children from all over the world.

I love the way this was written – in the past tense. It’s no longer brand new or in the process of changing, to this reporter, it has already changed. It’s not just adoption either. More and more, as I look out across my neighborhood, I see interracial couples sitting on their decks and pushing baby strollers. I have positive feelings about this change. It means that my son will grow up in a different world than I did.

Above and beyond that, I just like this article. The article starts out talking about the Zelinsky family who have six children of varying age and origin, but it doesn’t matter. They have three biological children, two adopted from Korea and one child from foster care. I love the stories about the children’s reaction to the new additions.

Twelve-year-old Zach, who months ago had indifferently agreed to the adoption, now barely let a moment slip by without Quincy attached to his hip.

"It was his baby," Denise said.

Months into their new life with Quincy, the Zelinskys wanted another Korean baby.

Brianna, then 11, and Sam, then 9, approached their mother and offered to give up the next two years of Christmas and birthday presents if they could only have their own baby - because Zach had already commandeered the first.

But a local 13-year-old girl needed a foster home.

The first two quickly responded: "Yes." The mother then turned to her oldest child, 18-year-old Zach, expecting him to question the rationality of bringing another person into the already full house.

"Mom, it's a no-brainer," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"She needs a home. We have home," he said, weighing an imaginary scale with his hands.

The last part of the article is an equally uplifting story about a family who is waiting to adopt from China.

Link: The changing face of Northwest families